Credit: CBS screenshot (8)

“The game is on,” Young & Restless’ Victor told Nick this week. “Let the excitement begin.” In turn, I replied, “Yes. Please. Let it. Anytime now. [Checks watch] Waiting.” I kid. While a lot of the goings-on in Genoa City left me understanding why its denizens need to drink so… much… coffee, a few twists actually left me happy to be filling in for Candi as your Soapbox editor du jour. Pour yourself a cup of joe, and let’s discuss, shall we?

Mental Hopscotch 

Sharon Case has been giving terrific performances as the effects of Sharon discontinuing her bipolar medication have taken their toll. And I was glad that Young & Restless addressed that, while Daniel may have played a role in Cassie’s death, he was certainly not to blame for it. I also liked that the show didn’t pretend that Google doesn’t exist and had Lucy just look up her father’s involvement in the tragedy. Even better was her reaction to finding out the truth: When Daniel said that no parent would be in a hurry to tell their child about something so upsetting in their past, she urged him not to be like all the other parents. “I’m here for it all.” Love this kid!

That said, other elements of this storyline had me going, “Wait… really?” For instance, Faith and Mariah didn’t get seriously worried about their mother until they saw… how messy the house was? Like Sharon wouldn’t have hired help to fold her clothes? The woman’s a therapist, a barista and a CEO; when would she ever have time to dust? What concerned me the most about Sharon was that her vision of Cassie was a weird, glowing still photo. (See below.) The show has tons of old footage of Camryn Grimes, so why not use it? And I understand Daniel’s good intentions, but maybe he, of all people, shouldn’t be on the frontlines among Sharon’s loved ones urging her to find a way to heal.

Just sayin’.

Naturally, I enjoyed seeing Linden Ashby back in action as the loathsome Cameron in Sharon’s mind. But the reappearance of the scene stealer — who’s married to a Young & Restless regular in real life — mainly made me wish that the villain had been given a twin brother instead of Alan (who didn’t need one to remain in the mix). Maybe the show could simply pull a Days of Our Lives or a General Hospital and have nobody notice that the new guy in town looks just like Cameron?

Sharon’s vision of Nick was a mixed bag. On one hand, it served as a reminder that Case and Joshua Morrow still have “it.” And it suggested that when the show re-pairs “Shick,” it’s going to be romantic to the nth. On the other hand, why would Sharon, even in this off-kilter state, be imagining Nick telling her that she needs to fall in love again? I mean, agree; it’s been years — decades in soap time! But why would matters of the heart be foremost in Sharon’s mind? Perhaps I’m trying to force logic on a brain that, in its current state, can’t apply it.

Self-Absorbed Much?

Was anyone not ready to throttle Billy as he kept prattling on about how he wanted to help Chelsea and Adam… by forcing them to sit down and let him try to browbeat a confession out of them? It’s obvious what Billy thinks happens. And OK, so it did happen. But if he isn’t full of BS telling Chelsea she can disclose anything to him, why wouldn’t he put her out of her misery by saying, “If you and Adam had sex, I get it… and we can get past it”? Adam hit the nail on the head when, about the 100th time Billy stressed how supportive he meant to be, he remarked, “This doesn’t feel supportive.” Preach!

Speaking of self-absorbed jerks, Kyle continued to bite the hand that has fed him all his life in a series of scenes that crackled with energy. His never-ending poor-little-rich-boy tantrum makes me want to send him to bed without caviar to go with his supper, but damn, does Michael Mealor sell his character’s outrage. Every day, he comes closer and closer to matching the power and intensity of on-screen dad Peter Bergman.

Also, kudos to Tuesday’s scriptwriter; the episode had a welcome touch of delightfully pointy wit. When Kyle barked that Jack and Diane saw Glissade as a threat, Dad shot back, “You’ve been sniffing too much of that cheap aftershave one of those little companies you overpaid for is making.” My favorite line, though, was Kyle telling Mommie Dearest, “You can play a lot things. ‘Innocent’ isn’t one of them.” Snap! The best part the Abbott vs. Abbott action, however, was that it let us know that the stage is being set for an epic takedown of the enfant terrible. It can’t have been a coincidence, Audra’s mention that if Jack wanted to, he could crush Glissade. “Oh, Daddy would never,” Kyle reassured her. You keep telling yourself that, jerko!

Lily Must Be an Early Riser

You have to get up pretty early in the morning to be one step ahead of the great and powerful Victor Newman, so apparently, Lily rises before the sun. As the tycoon took a talk-show approach to taking over Chancellor (nothing but chat-chat-chatter that amounted to nothing), we learned that Lily had stayed at the company following its de-merger from Winters only because she’d been doing damage control and playing Billy. Now it makes sense why she’d heap onto her plate all of the headaches that come from working with her insufferable ex!

The one problem with this revelation: When the fit hits the shan — and what a happy day it will be when we see hella-smug Billy Boy knocked down all the pegs! — Lily will be the odd CEO out. Victor and Nick think that she’d work well with Nikki. But by that point, wouldn’t Lily have earned the right to run Chancellor by herself? Would she really want to work with — or, worse, under — Mrs. Newman?

On an unrelated note: Was there a power outage at Newman? When Devon swung by to tell Nick how happy he was that his engagement to Abby meant that he’d “finally” have a brother — sorry, Moses — the execs’ sit-down with Victor was more dimly lit than the jazz club after hours. (See photo above.) Oh, and has Billy’s lack of business savvy ever been more apparent than in his priorities at Abbott-Chancellor? The most important thing: Getting the Abbott name first. The second most important: swag. And upon finding out that Victor is gunning for him: a launch party. Has there ever been a worse boss, on or off screen?

This, That and Oh Yeah, Another Thing

How much do you think Young & Restless is regretting calling Glissade Glissade? It sounds like a brand of personal lubricant. • Given the way that Claire is being written, when Victoria suggested that her daughter get her masters, did it take you a second to remember that she isn’t 12 and wouldn’t be skipping all of high school and college? “You ride those painted ponies if you want,” Mama said, “or go to grad school.” • Is it any wonder that people in Genoa City run into each other so much? All they seem to do is go from restaurant to restaurant, pushing food around their plates and drinking so… much… coffee. (Maybe they need the caffeine because they are forced to do so… much… recapping.)

How beautiful was the performance that Camryn Grimes gave as Mariah told Faith how scared she was of anything ever happening to Aria! That was some breathtaking #newmomrealness right there. But how, exactly, is Mariah going to “fill in at Cassidy First” for Sharon? Prior to learning that she was wealthy-and-powerful-adjacent, Cassie’s twin was a waitress, a bartender and a con artist. • As obnoxious as Kyle has been lately, hasn’t Summer been working overtime to match his level of intolerability? Even though Claire acts like she’s 7 years old, part of me hopes she’ll just run away with Harrison and live happily ever after digging up earthworms. Do you want to tell the show that we’re supposed to be rooting for at least one of the kid’s parents, or should I?

But wait, there’s more. (With me, there always is; I know I write too long — it’s actually a running joke in the office Slack channel!) Is it just me, or does everyone in Genoa City need to work on their poker faces? When Sharon happened upon Nick and Faith in the park, they looked like they’d just been busted selling drugs. (See above.) And wasn’t Chelsea once a supposedly quite adept grifter? Because now she’s a more obvious liar than Pinocchio. • Does the show not want us to wonder where Lucy was when she said she was at that pool party? ’Cause I am wondering (and have thoughts about what the teen was really up to). Cool that Daniel figured out that his daughter had fibbed to him, but what, exactly, did she spend that evening doing?

On a semi-related note, I was relieved that Faith finally felt bad about how readily and often she blew off the younger teen. I was starting to think that Faith’s insensitivity might have been one of the reasons that Moses dumped her. (Kindness is free, Faith, and also, you’re rich.) • How does Cole get the line on his shave so perfectly straight? (See above.) I can’t even draw a line that straight! • We know that Young & Restless has history with Victoria Rowell, but c’mon. Dru would for sure be in that family Christmas picture behind Billy and Lily below, right?

Hit the comments with your thoughts on this week’s episodes, and on your way